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I need to rant about the Fallout show

Because this is the person I am. Full spoilers, so I’m putting it behind a Keep Reading:

I’m a huge sucker for Fallout (yes even 3&4). And I went into the Fallout show with some… trepidation. Amazon has been a mixed bag on adaptations, we could have been blessed with a Good Omens, or cursed by a Rings of Power. But early buzz and reviews seemed positive, so I slammed the whole thing in one night with my spouse (we were staying at my in-laws house and they have Prime. Time was a factor.)

And y’know? I was really enjoying it! The characters were fun, the plot was engaging enough, and the costumes and visual design were extremely on point. There were some minor lore quibbles to be had: Ghouls needing some kind of medicine to not go feral. Really, more Enclave holdouts? Timeline and date whoopsies. Wait are they in California? Where the hell is the NCR?

I made a face at Shady Sands being bombed and the NCR collapsing. But I wasn’t completely out of the story. Based on what I had seen so far, I thought it was building to a reveal that the Brotherhood had done it. That the more zealous turn they took in Fallout 4, which has clearly carried to how they are portrayed in the show, lead them to bombing the NCR. War never changes, as they say. Maximus even says when asked what happened to Shady Sands: “The same thing that always happens.” Yeah, it leans into Bethesda’s weird desire to keep the Fallout world in a state of perpetual wastelands full of raiders and no civilization, but it wasn’t so terrible that I couldn’t still enjoy the show.

But then.

BUT THEN.

Episode 8, and the reveal of Vault-Tec apparently being the ones who dropped the first bomb in the Great War.

I was surprised to hear that some fans have apparently been debating over who fired first? Some even asked Tim Cain about it?

That’s really odd to me because, in the games, there is already a pretty definitive answer to which side sparked the Great War:

Who fucking cares?

The world ended. What does it matter who shot first?

There is no China, no United States, no communists or capitalists left to fight about it. 

It's a powerful little bit of lore.

For all the posturing, all the promises from each nation that their way is the true way, all the nationalism, the militarism, and blind loyalty to flags over humanity, they both lost. Everyone lost. All that remains of the ideologies and nations that were so important to the people of 2077 is faint echoes over vast expanses of radioactive ash.

Who started the end?

No one knows. No one cares.

It only matters that their conflict was so bitter, so all-consuming, that one of them dropped their bombs, and the other dropped theirs in return.

The truest legacy of the old world is the devastation left by their final, most horrific war.

Can we do better?

Then the show says "Nah, Vault-Tec did it. It's not a commentary on human nature and the futility of self-destructive conflict, it was actually these guys, these mustache twirling villains huddled in a darkened room literally plotting to end the whole world so they can rule what's left."

And I can see the attempt to make this a critique of capitalism. I actually paused the show to praise a bit of writing when Coop is talking with Charlie before the war, when Charlie tells him that the “cattle ranchers are in charge” to illustrate how capitalism and corporations hold too much sway over the government, it felt very in line with how in New Vegas one of the recurring critiques of the NCR is that all the real power is in the hands of the “brahmin barons.” Nice parallel, spot on!

But “we’ll set off total thermonuclear war so we can rule the ashes and have a True Monopoly” isn’t capitalism. It’s just dumb “we’re the baddies” writing.

And then Shady Sands was also Vault-Tec?! Forget any meaning in the NCR falling to the same corruption and/or factional fighting that consumed the old world, they were literally just bombed by the evil shadow conspiracy that apparently also killed the old world. Hank gives this speech about factions fighting and the futility of it all while we see the Brotherhood fighting Moldaver’s NCR remnant, and like, no! You can’t say that when you’ve made it so neither the old world or the NCR fell to war with another faction! It was you! You and your band of cryogenic supervillains!

I don't care that they changed it. Timelines and dates and little retcons don’t bother me all that much. I care that they changed it to something so much worse.

#fallout #fallout tv show #fallout spoilers #nerdy rant about shit that doesn't actually matter but has been stewing in my head for a week now

[assumptionprime]

I've been following the director of Fallout: New Vegas on twitter for a few years now and I can't emphasise enough that this dude is really good at posting

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quick appletun drawing to beat my artblock

#pokemon #appletun #other people’s art #LOOK AT HIM!

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The Waiting Game

To really drive the point home to me, I finally had a consult last week for a fairly simple outpatient procedure. Afterward, they said they would contact me soon about scheduling the actual surgery, which looks to be some time in… September.

At this point, I'm kind of glad it's at least September of this year.

Bluesky / Patreon / Instagram

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YES YES YES

PREPARE YOUR STRONGEST POTIONS! Potionomics: Masterwork Edition is coming to consoles in Fall 2024!

✨Featuring voice acting, Cozy & Capitalist difficulty levels, Endless Mode and additional languages.✨

Pre-order the Limited Box Edition Set here: https://bit.ly/GetPotionomicsME

Pre-orders will also be available soon at your favorite retailer!

#gonna buy this game a second time

[assumptionprime]

Also I feel you for the facial hair, lucky enough to have a barber near who does the full shave for 10 bucks

Unfortunately I am fair of skin and brown of hair (aka the video game protagonist default) so shaving is not enough for me 😔

#asks

[assumptionprime]

Waitin' gor my hormones rn

Blood tests ready, just waitin for the second appointment. The 29th can't come quicker

Good luck!

And yeah, of all the waiting, the wait right before getting hormones is a real pain.

#asks

[assumptionprime]

I want to thank you for all the comics you've made, it's comforting to see common experiences.

I just hit my one year of HRT today, and even though I've got a long road ahead, it's been absolutely worth it so far!

I'm truly glad they're a comfort to you, thank you for saying so.

And grats on one year!

#asks

[assumptionprime]

Quick question! I wanted to try my hand at some fanart, but I can't find a good shot of Keran in her Harbinger armor to use as a reference. Do you happen to have one that you used for the comic?

Hm. I never really did much in the way of turnarounds or character references back during Experience Boost, but I do have this wallpaper I did of Keran in her Harbinger plate back in 2017:

(Also I'm flattered you want to make some XP Boost fanart! I'd love to see it when it's done!)

#asks #experience boost

[assumptionprime]

The Waiting Game

To really drive the point home to me, I finally had a consult last week for a fairly simple outpatient procedure. Afterward, they said they would contact me soon about scheduling the actual surgery, which looks to be some time in… September.

At this point, I'm kind of glad it's at least September of this year.

Bluesky / Patreon / Instagram

#art #comic #trans #trans stuff #transgender

[assumptionprime]

Thinking of the larger context of LOTR and like, the fellowship swapping old war stories and shit and Sam just says “Yeah I killed a huge spider…Shelob, I think?”

And Gandalf just blinks and is like, “You what now?”

“Yeah, killed it. Had to save Frodo”

Gandalf elects not to tell Sam that he killed the spawn of a primordial demon.

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TUMBLR IS SO BORING WITH ALL YOU NERDS AT DASHCON

♥

((you all better come back with some amazing tales))

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they need to make more girls

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I asked one of my (male) friends to stop using the phrase “man up” and he has been using “fortify” for the past two weeks instead and it’s just a little thing but honestly it makes a difference

and tbh it’s also pretty funny when I start to deflate in the library and he leans over and goes “FORTIFY”